Electric Vehicle as Emergency Power Source

As per a report published by the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP), India is extremely susceptible to natural hazards especially earthquakes, floods, droughts, cyclones and landsides. Power outages, one of the critical downfalls of such calamities, has plagued India for decades. In 2012, half of India’s total population experienced power outages as an effect of severe drought. 19 out of 28 states were affected by the power outages; schools, government establishments, metro and power-dependent functions were interrupted. Although most urban emergency functions such as hospitals relied on diesel generators, the effect of outages at rural medical centers were catastrophic. Two hundred miners in West Bengal were stranded as their electric elevators stopped working. Unlike the US, India has cost and feasibility constraints; it is impractical to keep 10% of generated power as a back-up for use during such calamities.

The Govt. of India has set itself on a course to develop and promote an environment conducive to E-mobility; NITI Aayog foresees an annual savings of $60 billion dollar in 2030 with the rapid introduction of alternative vehicle technologies in both passenger and commercial segments. Indian government has set a target to ensure 6 million electric vehicles by 2020 and more than 10 million by 2030. With the advent and popularization of this electric vehicle technology, India is expected to have a portable energy platform of 30 MWhr by 2020; considering average energy stored by a vehicle (both passenger and commercial vehicles) to be approximately at 50kWhr. With the plan of inducting electric buses into the State Transport Units, the Government shall have access to a considerable amount of mobile energy that can be catered for emergency services during calamities.